CUSTOMS desks at Britain's busiest airport are being left unstaffed with passengers from "high risk" countries including Ghana, India and South Africa going unchecked, airport inspectors say.

Staff claim the government is piling pressure on them to stop queues building up at passport control

An investigation found no Border Force officers were on duty at Heathrow's Terminal 5 as passengers arrived from a long list of international destinations - including those associated with drugs trafficking and the illegal wildlife trade.

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The apparent lapse of protocol at Terminal 5 comes as the watchdog warned that Border Force officers were failing to meet targets for the seizure of illegal goods.

This is completely unacceptable and makes our border controls a mockery

Conservative MP Philip Davies

They had met less than half (46 per cent) of the target for the seizure of heroin, cocaine and other class A drugs, just a third (32 per cent) for cash, 54 per cent for tobacco and 89 per cent for cigarettes.

Only the seizure of illegal animal products - including ivory - met the target, the report by David Bolt, who took over as chief inspector in May, found.

Staff blamed Home Office guidance on the lack of customs checks, saying there was pressure from the Government to ensure long queues did not build up at passport control.

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Inspectors said planes were arriving from 'high risk' countries without the proper checks

The report said: "On eight occasions during this period there were no officers in the customs channels at one or both of the two exits, despite the fact that a number of high-risk flights were arriving at the time."

It also found that officers occasionally allowed passengers to keep excess amounts of alcohol and tobacco.

Conservative MP Philip Davies, a member of the Commons' Justice Select Committee, told The Times: "This is completely unacceptable and makes our border controls a mockery.

"The Home Secretary needs to get a grip on this straight away. The public will rightly be appalled about this."

Kent chief constable Alan Pughsley said that police had caught more than 400 in a recent five-week period but that the actual figure was likely to be "a lot higher".

There have also been calls for the import of animal 'trophies' from foreign wildlife hunting trips be banned from the UK, as fears grow for the fate of the world's most endangered species at the hands of tourist shooters.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The chief inspector found that Heathrow Border Force is conducting all required security checks, performing effectively and efficiently and providing an improved customer service.

"A flexible, intelligence-led approach allows Border Force to direct its resources more effectively and ensure that effort is focused on areas which represent the highest risk."

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Newly-built terminal 5 was criticised when it first open because of delays and missing bags